When Darkness Falls
by Rydrake Kyuubi
Summary: AU.  Envy protects a human girl, Sybille, after finding her abandoned as a baby.  She knows a Forbidden Alchemy, Darkness Alchemy.  While Dante wants her to open the Gate, another foe is after her.  Can the Elric Bros. help Envy protect Sybille?
1. Darkness Alchemist

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
><strong>Note:<strong>These events are based around the 2003 anime. Anyone who flames will be blocked.

Chapter 1:  
>Darkness Alchemist<p>

It is nighttime in Central. An odd shady figure appeared two days ago and his away in an abandoned house. Mustang has decided to investigate this on his own, telling his subordinates to stay behind. Of course, Hawkeye ends up following him but keeps her distance. He's careful to approach the door, placing on his gloves in case a fight was to occur. He reaches over and pushes at the door, finding it opens easily due its loose hinges. He slowly and cautiously peeks inside, finding the figure is actually a girl with shoulder length jet black hair with red highlights that is puffing out. Her skin appears healthy and olive. She is squatting drawing something on a piece of paper. She is wearing a teal-colored shirt, sky blue skinny jeans with black tiger-like stripes, black gladiator sandals, and a light purple leather jacket. Her eyes are an amber color. Beside her is a brown backpack stuffed with clothes and items.

Mustang opens the door wider until his shadow is casted across the room by a street light. The girl sees his shadow and looks to the door, becoming quickly intimidated. The two stare at each other for two minutes.

Mustang asks, "Are you the one that's been sneaking around town using an odd form of alchemy?"

The girl remains silent, unsure how to respond due to fear. Before Mustang could get any closer, a voice shouts angrily, "STAY AWAY! SHE'S DONE NOTHING WRONG!"

Someone quickly drops in and roundhouse kicks Mustang out into the street. Hawkeye makes her move and rushes in, stopping on the sidewalk behind Mustang pointing her gun at the attacker, only to be shocked at who the attacker is. Mustang recovers and sits up, getting a look at the one who kicked him. He is surprised to see it is one of the Homunculi. The Homunculus gathers the girl and her bag and jumps high onto a rooftop and disappears into the night.

Hawkeye puts her gun away as she hurries over to Mustang asking if he's okay. He replies he is but is stunned that a Homunculus would be protecting a human…unless they're using her for something else, like a hostage.

The next day, Mustang receives information of the Homunculus's where abouts, confirming that the mysterious girl is with them. He contacts Edward and Alphonse Elric and hands them their mission – find out who the Homunculus and girl are. The brothers are told that they are hiding in a church that is scheduled to be torn down in order to rebuild it from scratch. The brothers head there and find a gate with a large hole in it.

"Okay, neither Lt. Hawkeye or Mustang got a good look at who it was because things happened too fast. But they did say the Homunculus was small." Ed reviews.

"That means it could be either Envy or Wrath…or maybe Gluttony; he's kinda short." Al guesses.

"I doubt it's Wrath; he only gets that defensive if it's Sloth." Ed says as he goes through the hole helping Al through. "And I doubt it's Gluttony since he's usually seen with Lust."

"What about Greed? He may not be small, but both Mustang and Hawkeye said that the Homunculus was thin."

"Maybe. His name is what he is, so he could be protecting the girl. Okay Alphonse, break the door down!"

Alphonse punches the double doors, demolishing them both. After the pieces are done falling and the dust settles, the brothers walk in and find the girl at the podium reading something. She's so engrossed in what she's reading that she doesn't realize she could be in danger. Before they could even get to the first row of benches, the Homunculus appears from the confessional; they were using it to keep cover while keeping a watchful eye on things.

"Well, so the dogs sent the pipsqueak, huh? Yeah, you're no threat." the Homunculus speaks.

Ed gets offensive growling, "Who are you calling pipsqueak, Envy?"

Envy leans against a bench saying, "Look Ed, I have no reason to be fighting you right now. You're a bit more understanding about situations compared to those heartless military dogs."

"What do you mean?" Al asks.

"You see that girl over there? I've got some history with her." Envy replies.

Ed asks, "Explain yourself Envy. You protecting a human makes no sense; you hate humans."

Envy shrugs and says, "Alright. First off, I call her Sybille. When I found her in some town a couple weeks ago, she was wondering around with a dead look in her eyes, as if she wasn't living. As she started to collapse, I noticed part of her left arm, about halfway up to her elbow, was missing. It was wrapped in a bunch of cloths and bleeding pretty badly. I walked over to investigate, at first thinking I'd let her die, but she surprises me by looking up at me."

"This is really sounding like a bunch of BS." Ed says crossing his arms.

"Believe what you want, but it's all true. Anyway," Envy continues, "the look she gave me showed a strong will to live. When I asked how she lost part of her arm, she said and I quote, 'a fat person tried to eat me and I barely got away'."

Al asks, "Gluttony tried eating her?"

"Yup. I found out why when I met up with him and Lust; apparently she smelled good to him and so he tried eating her alive. Sybille told me she used her alchemy to get away, but the blood loss caused her to forget who she was; like I mentioned, she looked like the living dead when I found her." Envy replies.

"Okay so, how is she still alive?" Ed asks.

"Ah, that's the interesting part. As I was carrying her through town, I noticed a sign that read 'Rush Valley'. I kept walking through until someone notices and says he can try giving her automail. She's very lucky to have survived such stress." Envy concludes.

"…How come I'm having a hard time believing all this?" Ed asks.

Envy sighs and says, "Look, you can ask Lust and Gluttony and they'd tell you the same story. I wasn't trying to build any bond with her, but there's something about her I find just awesome."

"Just what would that be?" Ed asks.

"Come at me; I'll show you." Envy replies.

Ed is confused at first, but gladly runs at Envy. All of a sudden, Sybille comes flying at Ed, kicking his head in, the force causing him to go flying comically into a wall as Al watches in horror unable to react.

Sybille takes a few breaths before shouting, "You can go f*ck yourself, State Alchemist scumbag!"

Envy chuckles and says, "She's got one hell of an attitude problem!"

Ed lies in the new hole with a goofy look on his face saying under his breath, "Great, another Winry…"

"Brother! Are you okay?" Al asks as he rushes over and helps his brother up.

A voice suddenly speaks, "Oy Envy, are you telling the fake story again? You gotta stop doin' that."

In the doorway appears Greed, standing erect, hands in his pockets. He notices to his side that Ed had been kicked into the wall and is still out of it, but of course doesn't care.

Ed replies still dizzy, "I knew it was a liiiiee…"

"Grr, damn you Greed. What are you doing here?" Envy growls.

Sybille asks tilting her head, "Hey, what happened to your original sunglasses?"

"Ah, you noticed, huh? I got in a scrape with some punk and he punched me in the face, destroying my sunglasses. So I took off his and punched him back harder and left." Greed replies sounding proud, showing off his new streamline styled sunglasses.

"You're screwed in the head. Sybille, go get your things." Envy says.

Ed sits up and taunts, "What's the matter Envy, don't like hearing the truth?"

"Shove it, pipsqueak. It's not me who hates hearing the story; Sybille hates it the most. Whenever she hears it she gets nightmares. Like I said before, I have no reason to fight you. But if you target Sybille I won't play around." Envy responds.

Sybille collects her things and follows Envy out of the church. Al helps up Ed and Greed sits down on one of the benches, placing his feet up on the one in front of him. He takes off his sunglasses and invites the Elrics to sit down. They decide to stay standing.

"So, Greed, why are you here, and what do you want?" Ed questions.

"Remember the Devil's Nest was destroyed? I hid myself for a while after that, and when things cooled down, I began to wander. And like Envy, I'm not here for a fight. I'm going to tell you the truth behind him and Sybille. Sure, it's true Gluttony's tried eating her, but he's not the reason why she has a partial automail arm. Boys, what I'm about to tell you, you need to keep it a secret. You can't tell anyone including the other State Alchemists, understand?" Greed answers, soon giving them a serious look.

"We understand. But what if they start asking questions? I am a State Alchemist after all." Ed asks.

"Edward, you can't tell anyone." Greed says turning his body and facing them, "Envy's very protective of her, and frankly, so am I. I like the kid, and I can't tell you anything about her until you promise me to keep everything a secret. Just say she's a rogue who can't control her alchemy, okay?"

"Okay then." Ed reluctantly agrees.

"Good. Now then, sit down; it's gonna be a long story." Greed says.

It's 15 years ago. A mother gives birth to a healthy baby girl in an alleyway in the afternoon. The father takes hold of the newborn as it starts to rain. The mother couldn't take the stress of giving birth and sadly dies a few moments later. The father looks at the newborn and has no idea what to do. Instead of cutting the umbilical cord and taking her with him, he blames the baby for his wife's death and promptly leaves the girl on top of her mother. He disappears from the alleyway as the baby girl wails. The rain comes down heavy, almost looking like a waterfall. Envy is rushing through the streets desperate to get out of the rain.

As he passes an alleyway, he hears the baby girl crying. He retraces his steps and takes a look, somewhat shocked by the sight. Blood is everywhere being slowly washed away by the rain. He sees the baby and approaches her. He sees the mother is dead, and squats down to look at the baby.

"Hmph, it's kinda sad seeing you like this. You're brought into the world, only to die from the elements. Too bad." Envy says, poking the baby girl's belly.

Suddnly, the baby girl grabs onto Envy's finger with both her hands, gripping tightly. He tries to pull away, but she doesn't let go. She continues to wail holding onto his finger. He realizes he can't leave her now. He transforms his free hand into a sharp spear of sorts and cuts the cord. He has nothing to wrap the baby in, and looks around finding an old towel in a trash bin. Not the greatest, the girl needs to be covered, and it's the only item in the bin. He pulls it out, wraps the baby in it, and starts to run trying to find a hospital.

Envy eventually finds a hospital and assumes the form of a random human man. He tells a nurse everything and she takes the baby girl. Envy then tries to leave, but soon finds he can't. He stays in the waiting room instead when he knows he should be elsewhere. After a good while, the nurse returns with the baby girl saying she's healthy. Not sure what to feel, Envy thanks the nurse and leaves the hospital, the rain having turned into very mild drizzle. As he walks through the streets, he passes by the alleyway again, seeing a couple officers. He rushes passed them and changes back to his preferred form as he turns the corner. He then looks at the baby, seeing she is asleep and calm.

"I shouldn't do this…I really shouldn't. But, something happened when you grabbed my finger. Ugh, what would Dante think? And having Gluttony around makes it worse. Hmm…maybe I can raise you in secrecy…" Envy thinks.

Although he'd get in trouble for it, he does return to Dante, but finds she isn't home, and Gluttony's nowhere to be found. That is until the door closes behind him, and he finds Dante. She glares at Envy.

Dante demands, "What do you think you're doing bringing a human child here? Get rid of it!"

"Not happening. She's a newborn and I found her on top of her dead mother. She was abandoned." Envy replies.

"Envy, you hate all humans, yet you're sparring this one?"

"Damn it Dante, I felt something when she grabbed my finger!"

"…You became committed. Have you named it yet?"

"Actually yes, I have. Along the way back, I named her Sybille."

"…Great, now you're attached, correct?"

"So what if I am?"

Reluctantly, Dante lets Envy keep Sybille, but he would have to care for her on his own. When it became the next day, Envy discovered that Sybille's birth father was caught in a bar bragging to his friends how he abandoned his baby girl and was arrested. The police had also found that someone had taken the child after asking some nurses in a hospital. With no other family members, they hope whoever took the baby is treating it well. Envy can freely raise baby Sybille.

Five years pass and Sybille is a happy and healthy five-year-old. She enjoys using Gluttony's stomach and a trampoline, causing Envy to catch her mid-jump and take her away. She also had read some of Dante's books on alchemy, but being so young, she cannot read small words. One day, they travel to Rush Valley, Envy told to look for a certain someone. Suddenly, a crowd ahead of them goes into a panic and turns around running passed them. When things cleared, Envy saw a wild man chasing after the crowd. In an attempt to protect Sybille, he transforms part of his right arm and runs at the man. The wild man has a weapon of his own, an S&W .500 Magnum. He points it at Envy, but Envy grabs the man's arm trying to get him to stop or at least aim it higher, but the man fires before Envy could do a thing. The blast takes out Sybille's left forearm, half way up to her elbow, and she collapses screaming in pain.

As the man laughs, Envy drives his transformed spear-like arm through the man's head shouting, "F*ck you!"

Envy transforms his arm back to normal as he rushes to Sybille and the man collapses. Envy picks up Sybille seeing she's bleeding heavily. He looks around and sees an automail shop. He runs over to it and kicks the door open looking for somebody to help her. One of the mechanics agrees. With things happening as fast as humanly possible, Sybille is given a new automail arm in a week. She recovers and adjusts to her new arm in a week, and she and Envy return home to Dante.

Dante is not pleased that Envy could not find his target. She is surprised, however, by his dedication to Sybille, having gotten her an automail arm. For the next 10 years as more Homunculi join, Sybille learns how to use Alchemy, but learns a dangerous forbidden form of it that she still struggles to wield. It is called Darkness Alchemy. It is said that those who learn how to use it are said to have more feeling behind their alchemy and are rumored to be the unknown key to opening the Gate without someone having to use Human Transmutation. Since Sybille has bonded with Envy, her feeling behind her Darkness Alchemy is Protection. Any feeling known to everyone can become the fuel behind this forbidden form, though the real reason behind those knowing it is unknown. The user usually has no idea that it is forbidden as it is not well recorded in books due to it being highly unknown.

Dante became interested in Sybille's ability to use Darkness Alchemy and wanted to use Sybille to open the Gate. However, although Envy refuses to let Dante near her, Sybille does not have full control of her alchemy as it occurred when she was just learning how to draw perfect Transmutation Circles. Her symbol became a circle with a five-pointed star, with the Ouroboros on the top point, and a tribal heart in the middle.

Ed and Al are surprised to learn of Envy's soft spot, and there is another form of forbidden alchemy. Greed also mentions that Lust tried researching Darkness Alchemy out of curiousity, and found that all users unknowingly gain a pentagram as a universal symbol, but usually have symbols they draw in the middle and/or top point that has meaning to them. For Sybille, the Ouroboros stands for Envy, and the tribal heart stands for the love and care he shows her, but also for future love.

Greed concludes, "Not many users of this odd alchemy exist. We only know Sybille. Dante has high interest in her now, and Envy and I came to an agreement to try and keep Dante from finding her. All this is why I want you to keep it secret."

"…I can't believe her birth father just up and left her like that!" Al says.

"I can't believe Envy spared a human life!" Ed says.

"It's true kid. All of us know the true story, including Wrath. She and Wrath get along pretty well, almost like siblings. Though, she sees Envy as a brother too, since we Homunculi don't age. Envy prefers it that way." Greed says.

"Well Alphonse, what should we do?" Ed asks.

"Just do what I told ya: tell the others that she is a rogue who can't control her powers. If she's spotted, you two are the only ones that will investigate and demand it. If anyone besides you two shows up, Envy will attack and get Sybille to safety." Greed replies standing up.

"Can you at least tell us where he likes to hide? Making us agree to keep her background a secret also means we agreed to protect her." Al asks.

Greed looks at the brothers and replies, "Sorry, I'd be going back on my word. And I doubt Envy will tell you should Sybille be spotted again. She's not the best at hiding and often wanders into the city when she gets bored enough."

"In that case, we'll keep everything a secret. But in exchange—" Ed says before Greed interrupts him, "Aha, nice try, but there's no Equivalent Exchange happening here. If you want to learn of Darkness Alchemy or find the Philosopher's Stone, you're own your own."

Greed leaves the church and the brothers are left to decide if what they're promising to do is the right thing. If they tell Mustang everything they learned, he might order for an arrest if not an attack, since Envy's involved. If they tell Mustang the lie, then Sybille is safe, but they don't know what else the Homunculi are up to. They soon decide that telling the lie is the only way out so Sybille doesn't become marked as a threat, and leave the church.

Elsewhere in town, Envy has found a permanently closed underground bar. He breaks the door down and gets Sybille inside. After he gets in, Sybille uses her alchemy to revive the door. The place is still fairly clean, a good indication it was recently shut down. Both take a seat at a table, and Sybille takes out a book marked "Alchemy Progress Journal" and a pen. She writes down her latest success at reviving the bar door. Envy reaches over and pets her head. After, he looks around and sees windows; the glass used makes seeing in or out impossible, but light is still able to enter. All too soon, Greed opens the door, not needing to break it open; the door is oddly unlocked. He walks over to them and takes a seat.

Envy growls, "I take it you told them everything, correct?"

Greed replies, "Of course. But, I told those two to lie, so Sybille's safe. What worries me is her inability to transmute properly."

Sybille argues, "I can transmute!"

"No, you can't. You can only fix objects." Envy says.

"He's right. And I think I know the person for the job, too." Greed says.

"Oh really? Who's that?" Envy demands.

"Will you stop being so defensive, Palm Tree? Anyway, I recall after kidnapping Al, that this woman appeared, and soon after, Ed. I remember he called her 'Teacher'. I did a little snooping around and discovered her name is Izumi Curtis, lives in Dublith, and apparently trained those two boys." Greed explains.

"Is that so? Well then, we'll have to pay Izumi a visit. Sybille, we're taking another train ride!" Envy says.

Sybille pouts, "Man, I'm getting so sick of the trains. I wish there was another way to travel, like maybe creating a machine that can fly like a bird!"

Envy sighs saying, "Well the train's all we have and I'm not exactly up for car-jacking. Last time I did that, I got kicked by a woman wearing heels. And let me tell you Sybille, the male anatomy cannot handle heels to any degree."

Greed says, "Too bad you don't have my powers."

Meanwhile at Central HQ, Ed and Al report to Mustang, telling him that Sybille is the shady figure and is a rogue from an unknown town who's still learning to control her alchemy. They also demand to investigate any areas where Sybille is spotted in the future, saying she's afraid of men in uniform. Mustang buys the story, and decides to grant the Elrics' their wish; he does not want another confrontation like before and wants to approach it more delicately. With that, Ed and Al leave HQ and head to a library.

* * *

><p><strong>Trivia:<strong>  
>1) This storyline is cutting off from after the Devil's Nest is attacked and when Greed is supposed to be killed. But, for AU sake, I wanted him alive; he's just too much of a badass to let go.<br>2) Envy does really hate all humans, but in FMA reality, he seems to respect Dante. Finding Sybille abandoned has actually reminded him of his past before he died of mercury poisoning, though he doesn't state it here.  
>3) Envy's fake story is a way of keeping Sybille from reacting in a way not yet seen. Before Greed tells the true story, he makes sure to get Sybille away.<br>4) The story Greed tells takes place 15 years before the main storyline. It is unclear what the Homunculi were up to in that time frame.  
>5) Sybille's hostility towards Edward trying to attack Envy proves she hates State Alchemists, just like several other characters.<br>6) Although Envy and Greed don't see eye-to-eye, they have made a pact to protect Sybille; this could be due to the fact that Greed would be a last resort as he is the Ultimate Shield and is unaffected by most attacks.  
>7) When Greed and Izumi confront each other, Greed asks who she is, and she replies, "I'm PISSED OFF!". As far as my knowledge goes and out of what the FMA Wiki is saying, he never learned of her name.<br>8) Sybille's wish is for a plane; these do not exist in the FMA world.  
>9) Envy talks about being unable to take a hit to the one place a man should never be hit. Envy is indeed male, but has an androgynous appearance.<p> 


	2. Naive vs Rash

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
><strong>Note:<strong>These events are based around the 2003 anime. Anyone who flames will be blocked.

Chapter 2:  
>Naive vs Rash<p>

The Elric Brothers had entered the library and are trying to find out more on Darkness Alchemy. Neither brother is having luck after a few hours of searching, the sky turning from blue to red-orange.

"Argh, damn! Greed wasn't kidding; I can't find jack on Darkness Alchemy!" Ed growls, slamming another book shut.

"Brother, what if we trid asking Teacher? She might know something..." Al suggests, becoming afraid of his own idea.

Ed looks at his brother in a comical gloom fashion uttering, "**Are you nuts, Alphonse?** We can't go to her!"

"It's not like she'll beat us up again. She already took care of that in Rush Valley."

"Still though! She'll shove our heads up our asses for wanting to know more about another Forbidden Alchemy!"

"Uh, you'll mean she'll shove _your_ head up _your_ ass. I don't have one anymore."

"Is that how it is? YOUR HEAD'S REMOVEABLE!"

"But, I minus an ass."

"...Don't make me pour water on you."

Meanwhile, Envy and Sybille are on a train heading for Dublith. Greed is staying behind in order to turn the bar into his new "base of operations". However, Envy had to transform into a different person in order to get the tickets. The both of them are in a car with two other people: a grandfather and his grandson. The child is asleep while the grandfather reads a newspaper. Envy is in his preferred form until the ticket guy appears t check everything. He is splitting a chocolate parfait with Sybille, who is preferring to stick her head out the window to enjoy the wind blowing through her hair. He watches as the orange sun shines down on her black hair, bringing out the color of the red burried in a meadow of black. Envy looks out the window noticing how much closer to Dublith they're getting. A door opens and Envy quickly takes on the form he used to get on the train. The ticket checker checks the grandfather's ticket. It's good, and he moves on to Envy and Sybille. Envy flashes the tickets and the ticket checker finds they're good and moves on to the next car.

Before Envy can returned to his preferred form, someone comes through the door in front of him. He immeditaly recognizes who it is by descriptions from Lust and Gluttony; it's Scar, wearing a light tan cloak. He sees Sybille with her head out the window and promptly pulls her back in. Envy wanted to attack, but holds back when he hears the grandson make a noise. Sybille looks at Scar not showing any sign of fear which starts to confuse him. Then he begins to remember something. Scar had seen Sybille on a few rare occassions when she was younger, the first sighting being in Ishval being handled by his older brother. At that point, however, Envy had taken the form of a man from a far away city, but keeping his long green hair. Right now, Envy has taken the form of a random person from a northern part of Amestris.

Sybille asks, "Hey, you kinda look familiar. Have we met?"

Envy sighs going back to his preferred form, "You won't remember too well, but when you were still a toddler, I took you to Lior years before the Ishvalan War began. I wanted to get yo socialized with as many different people as posible so you wouldn't become biased and judge others. In a way, you met this guy as well."

"Then what's your name, Ishvalan-san?" Sybille asks innocently.

Scar replies, "I have no name. Just call me Scar."

Sybille giggles and says, "Still sounds like a name to me! Where are you headed?"

"Hold on Sybille." Envy says before turning back to Scar, "Just what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be looking after the others?"

"Not anymore. If I continue to try and protect them, something else will happen." Scar answers, clenching his right fist hiding the real reason he's on the train.

"But, who's protecting your people now?" Sybille asks.

Scar looks at her and responds, "They're in a safe place; I don't need to worry anymore."

"That's good. I'm on my way to Dublith to receive training." Sybille says.

"Sybille!" Envy scolds.

Scar chuckles and says, "Still as naive as you were back then. I'm not heading anywhere near Dublith; to be honest, I'm on the wrong train."

"Then come with us! I need to get to know you better!" Sybille invites.

Envy facepalms growling, "If you only knew Sybille, you'd understand my frustration right now..."

Scar sits down next to Sybille saying, "Sounds like to me you forgot to teach her about Stranger Danger."

"Oh I learned that. You looked familiar and now I know why." Sybille says.

"But what if I did what I did and I didn't seem familiar?" Scar questions.

Sybille replies, "In that case, I would've aimed below the belt."

Scar hangs his head saying, "Dear Ishvala, you've taught her too well."

"Damn straight." Envy says sitting up.

Envy, Sybille, and Scar arrive in Dublith a little while later. Sybille pulls out the map of Dublith Greed had drawn for them and takes the lead, Envy assuming his form. Scar pulls his hood up in order to keep his eyes covered should anyone recognize him as an Ishvalan. He looks at Envy, wondering how he can walk around in his usual form so calmly. They arrive at the butcher shop moments later, and Sybille soon gets the shivers, sensing something odd about the shop. Scar shows her how to ignore odd sensations and walks through the door, seeing Sig with his back turned cutting up meat. Sybille enters with Envy close behind her. Sig hears them and turns around, the butcher knife still in his hand covered in what appears to be blood, and said substance all over, his scar face and large muscles not helping in making him look friendly. Sybille nearly shrieks and hides behind Envy shaking like a leaf. Scar, having learned of Izumi's name, asks where she is stating Sybille wants to speak with her.

Sig peers over at the frightened Sybille and says she's not home, slightly flexing a muscle. Scar gets the idea, quickly figuring Sig talks more with his muscles (like what he did with Armstrong). Scar steps forth and pushes back the cloak instead of taking it off. Scar and Sig stare down before they get into a flexing competition. This wierds out Envy as he stands there with a disgusted look. That's when Izumi herself appears at the door carrying a paper bag full of groceries, soon getting confused at the sigh of Sig and Scar pushing against each other with their sides. Envy notices her, but his expression doesn't change.

Envy says to her pointing to them, "For all that's decent make them stop..."

Izumi sighs placing the bag down and off to the side and then stands calling, "Sig, cut it out."

Sig hears her and stops his actions. Scar backs off as well, thinking he had just embarrassed himself. Izumi sees that her husband is covered in blood from cutting up fresh meat which explains why she saw Sybille cowering behind Envy. She tells Sig to go elsewhere getting the feeling she's the one they're looking for. As Sig disappears, Sybille comes out of hiding and closes the door. When Sybille returns to Envy, Izumi gets serious.

Izumi demands, "Why are you here? I know you're a Homunculus, and you're that Ishvalan, Scar."

"It's because of me, Izumi-sama..." Sybille replies shyly.

Izumi wants to believe the girl, but has a hard time with it as she stares at two people who are Ed and Al's foes.

Scar says, "If you allow us to explain why the two of us are here, I think you'll understand."

Izumi replies, "Fine. Start explaining."

The three of them sit down as Envy sends Sybille outside to practice drawing her Transmutation Circle quicker. Envy tells her the true story instead of the fake, which surprises even Scar as he never heard of her actual background. Izumi nearly denied that Dante would want Sybille with such a dangerous form of alchemy until Envy explains that Dante is not who she thinks she is. Izumi can't believe that Dante is actually a soul jumping from one body to the next when it begins to rot. Scar tells her that he is just traveling with them until he reaches his other destination, still hiding the real reason he's on his own. Envy then says that Sybille cannot fully transmute without causing a non-fatal explosion attracting attention, that she can only fix objects. He fears that one day he may not be able to protect her and she needs to learn to use her alchemy. Izumi refuses to take Sybille on as a student until a static-like explosion is heard. The three get up and rush outside finding Sybille had failed another transmutation; she was trying to make a simple horse figure and it didn't go as planned. Her face has mild scortch marks and she falls over with swirls for eyes and a goofy look.

"Oh yeah...I forgot. Each time she fails, she faints and stays out for five minutes." Envy says.

"What I still don't understand is how she learned Darkness Alchemy." Izumi says.

Envy says crossing his arms, "Oh please, like you know nothing about it! I'm the one that stil has no clue and Dante won't tell me anything."

Izumi replies, "I really have no idea of Darkness Alchemy. I only know the one taboo. Still, I don't think I can take her on."

"Why not? You've seen for yourself how bad she is at this." Scar asks.

"She's much too soft. She also scares easy out of what I've seen. I can't accept her as my student." Izumi explains.

Envy retorts, "Oh yeah? You haven't seen her true nature. Come at me, bitch."

"What did you just call me?" Izumi shouts quickly facing Envy as Scar backs off.

"You heard me. Don't make me use the c-word." Envy replies with a grin.

Now officially in a rage, Izumi doesn't hesitate to punch Envy in the face. What she didn't expect was for Sybille to react after three minutes of being knocked out, grab her arm and toss her onto her back. Izumi looks up at Sybille shocked that someone was able to counter as well as recover so quickly. Sybille suddenly realizes what's going on and helps Izumi back up. Scar is amazed at the girl's reaction and starts to think twice, should he ever have to fight Envy. Izumi starts to laugh which makes everyone nervous and Sybille hides behind Envy again.

Izumi calms down saying, "I've never had one person be able to counter me like that before! Not even Edward and Alphonse could come close to landing a hit! You know what, I think I may be able to train her, but on one condition: she needs to learn the meaning of the phrase 'One is all and all is one'."

Sybille asks, "Wait, I need to learn what that phrase means? I never saw it in any book."

"That's because it's not. Now, can I talk to Envy for a minute?" Izumi asks.

Envy agrees and Izumi takes Envy back inside the shop so they can't be heard. Sybille looks on concerned and confused as Scar approaches her. Inside, Izumi tells Envy what she plans on doing with Sybille, and he's not liking the idea.

"What do you mean you're gonna leave her alone on an island for a month? She can barely handle me being away for five minutes!" Envy freaks.

"That's what I did with Ed and Al, and look at them now. Not to mention she won't be completely alone. I'll be sending Mason to 'check on her' while she learns survival." Izumi replies calmly.

"Okay, I didn't like the sound of that."

"She can't use alchemy, so she needs to keep up her ability to fight hand-to-hand. Didn't you teach her how?"

"Only a little...her true strength only occurs when I'm the one in trouble. Otherwise..."

"Then this'll be good for her. Come, let's go back outside."

They hear Scar call, "Envy! Get out here!"

Both Izumi and Envy hurry back outside and find Scar in the middle of a problem with Bald, who had somehow escaped from prison and was holding Sybille in his normal arm while pointing his automail arm out at Scar. Sybille's arms are tucked in so she can't use Darkness Alchemy to free herself and can't struggle wel either. Envy goes in for the attack but is stopped short when Bald points his double-barrel rifle automail arm in his face. Bald is prepared to shoot anyone who challenges him. Izumi tries to use her Alchemy but Bald fires a warning shot at her at the round causing her to flinch. Everyone is at a standstill as civilians stop in their tracks unable to move for fear of being shot. Bald starts to step back warning everyone to stay where they are, taking Sybille hostage. Sybille starts to squirm to try and slip out of his grip, but he points his automail arm in her face and she stops. As Bald makes it to the other side of the street and is about to turn a corner, Scar uses his alchemy and causes the ground to rise up violently and quickly, easily striking Bald's feet and causing him to fall over and let go of Sybille. Sybille hits the ground as well, but not as harshly as Bald, and makes a run for it as she gets up. Izumi follows Scar's lead and uses her alchemy to pin Bald to the ground by reconstructing it to make large "tourniquets".

Their one mistake is forgeting about Bald's automail arm and he starts to fire it relentlessly, trying to shoot down anyone he can as he tries to aim for Sybille. She can feel one bullet fly past her and she flinches stopping in place and covering her head in fear. Another soon grazes her right arm, and she reacts by dropping to the ground being unable to handle the stress any longer. Envy decides to rush after Sybille not caring that bullets are flying through the air and through his body; he can just regenerate to recover the wound. Bald suddenly stops shooting just as Envy reaches Sybille; it turns out he ran out of bullets. Scar and Izumi walk over to the restrained Bald, soon standing over him and shooting glares. Envy gets Sybille to stand and then looks over at Bald.

"Well, well, it seems this asshole has run out of ammo. Scar, how about we show him what it's like to be the one shot at?" Izumi says, an evil grin stretching across her face.

"I'll be sure to let Ishvala know not to spare you." Scar says.

"You really think you have my beat, don't you?" Bald says pulling something out of his pants pocket.

Izumi sees it's a grenade trigger and warns everyone to run away. Only have 10 seconds until explosion, Izumi and Scar retreat to the shop, but Izumi stays outside as Envy and Sybille get inside. She quickly transmutes a barrier in front of the shop, and all at one the grenade explodes, destroying the stone tourniquets restraining Bald, part of a building, and it was strong enough to create a small crater. Izumi then has the barrier return to normal ground and sees the aftermath. Bald had been blown to bits as a pool of blood replaces his body. Scar, Envy, and Sybille look out the window seeing the result of the grenade.

Afternoon turns to night, and Izumi decides to offer Scar, Envy, and Sybille a place to spend the night after tending to Sybile's graze wound. In Central, Edward and Alphonse have tired themselves out trying to find anything on Darkness Alchemy at the library with no results. They only found the same information Greed had given them. They are now on their way back to Central HQ, when they suddenly run into Greed again. He looked exhausted as he leans against a streetlight. They carefully approach him and he notices them right away out of the corner of his eye. The Brothers stop in their place and Greed chuckles at their cautiousness.

"Although I admire how careful you're being," Greed starts, "I told you before I'm not here for a fight."

"Then why do you look so worn out?" Al asks.

"You try getting away from hitting on a girl not wearing her wedding ring. Her husband chased me all over town before I lost him just a few minutes ago...I'm out of breath." Greed replies.

Ed taunts, "See what happens when you act as your name?"

Greed growls, "Watch it, kid. I could kill you in an instant."

"Anyway, you weren't kidding that Darkness Alchemy wasn't recorded. We couldn't find anything on it." Al says.

"I told you. None of us have any clue what it's really all about, even Dante doesn't know very much. All that's known is that users can summon the Gate without needing to perform Human Transmutation. Sybille hasn't been able to do that at all since she's a rookie. Though, Envy wants her to learn how to use Alchemy so she can defend herself instead of always fixing objects." Greed says.

"Being able to fix objects isn't a bad thing though." Al says.

"No, but she needs to learn how it's all done. Although she can fix things, she can't transmute because she isn't geting the three steps that Lust read about: Comprehension, Deconstruction, and Reconstruction. We don't know which step she's doing wrong." Greed explains.

Ed starts to think, "That all depends on what's happening during her transmutations. If she can't even get the shape, she hasn't gotten passed Comprehension. If she can get the shape, but it doesn't form correctly, then she's not deconstructing it properly and the form falls apart. But, if she can get both yet can't it to stay together properly, then she hasn't reconstructed it right."

Greed says, "Well, whenever she tries transmuting, the shape she makes explodes and she's out cold for five minutes."

"Sounds like she can't reconstruct right. But an explosion?" Ed says.

"We're thinking the small explosion is because of her type of alchemy. It's not like yours. Anything she transmutes becomes a mixture of purple and black." Greed responds.

"Ed, maybe we can help her learn how to reconstruct. It's not like she's an enemy." Al suggests.

Greed says, "You're out of luck; Envy and Sybille aren't in Central anymore. And I need to call it a night. Later."

Greed leaves even when Ed calls his name. The Elrics are left with more questions than answers with no path to take. Al wonders where Envy could've taken Sybille if he wants her to learn how to control her alchemy. Ed suddenly figures out the answer, his face above his eyes comically turning blue saying that Envy must've taken Sybille to Dublith...to Izumi. Al goes into a panick saying that there's no wa Sybille will survive.

Ed then says, "That settles it then! We're going to Dublith!"

"What? Are you sure, Brother?" Al asks.

Before Ed could reply, he faints at the thought of what he just said, his soul slipping out of his mouth. Al grabs Ed's soul and tries to push it back in his body, then trying to get Ed to breathe.

* * *

><p><strong>Trivia:<strong>  
>1) Al's line of "I minus an ass" is actually a quote from Death from <em>Family Guy<em>.  
>2) Envy eating a chocolate parfait with Sybille is actually from the game: Dream Carnival...seeing the gameplay on YouTube, I'm wishing I owned this game.<br>3) Scar appears on "the wrong train". Going in order of deaths, Greed dies before Scar does. How he got to his actual destination isn't made clear. He also remembers Sybille from when she was still very young and brought to Ishval for socialization.  
>4) Sig "talking with his muscles" with Scar is similar to how he communicated with Armstrong. Scar has no choice but to go OOC as Envy doesn't have a muscular build.<br>5) Izumi refusing to take Sybille on as her student is similar to her denying Ed and Al until she sees how bad Sybille is at transmutation. She wants to drop Sybille at Yock Island just as she did with the Elrics wanting her to figure out the famous quote.  
>6) Bald doesn't appear after he is arrested early in the series. How he got out of prison is currently unknown.<br>7) Sybille flinches when bullets fly past her; this could be a fear of guns carrying on from her childhood.  
>8) Ed's soul leaving his body is from a scene from the Brotherhood series, and Al is grabbing onto it again.<p> 


	3. Face of Darkness

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
><strong>Note:<strong>These events are based around the 2003 anime. Anyone who flames will be blocked.

Chapter 3:  
>Face of Darkness<p>

Sybille lies wide awake, staring up at the ceiling. She is sharing a bed with Envy as Scar sleeps in a nearby room. She looks at Envy who is lying on his side facing away from her. She decides to get up and walk out the room, wearing her dark blue long sleeve and pants pj's with clouds for a pattern. Peering out the door, the hallway is empty and somewhat dark. She walks out of the room and heads outside the house. She looks up at the night sky focusing on the moon. Sybille longs to know what her birth mother was like before she had given birth to her, and why her birth father up and abandoned her instead of placing her in a foster home. Although she thinks of this, she starts to think twice, liking the life she has now with the Homunculi. She likes being with Envy but deep inside, she feels lonely. She then looks over to the spot where Bald blew himself up; it was mostly cleaned up, but blood continues to stain the ground.

"{Sybille...why do you continue to think what life would be like if Envy hadn't found you?}" she thinks to herself.

A cool gentle breeze blows by and calms. Sybille stands up and is about to head back inside when Izumi walks out. They notice each other right away.

Izumi asks, "Sybille, shouldn't you be inside?"

Sybille replies, "Sometimes I'm wide awake and I step outside for some fresh air. What are you doing out here?"

"I was feeling a bit hot and needed to step out. So, have you thought hard about the quote?"

"That's part of why I was lying awake. If I've thought critically enough, then it would be something like, 'the Earth is the all, and I'm the one'. Am I right?"

"...How on Earth?"

"I'm a critical thinker. I may not look or act it, but I'm actually pretty clever. Can I start learning alchemy?"

"...There is just no way you figured it out so quickly."

"Scar doesn't _do_ alchemy, and Envy can't preform it. Who else am I gonna get an answer from?"

"Good point. But if you're that much of a critical thinker, then why can't you transmute properly?"

"...That I'm not sure of. As soon as I started drawing Transmutation Circles, I've been using Darkness Alchemy. I don't get why I can only fix things. Do you think there could be something else behind it?"

"Maybe. But I'm sure we can figure it out. Once you learn to transmute properly, you'll be able to use alchemy to your full potential. Hmm, actually, maybe it's your element."

"Darkness?"

"No, I mean one of the Four Classical Elements: Earth, Fire, Water, and Air. Maybe your classical element isn't Earth."

"..."

"I'll explain it more in the morning. You should head back inside before Envy starts looking for you."

"Yeah...hey, Izumi-sama?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for accepting me as your student. I promise to do my best."

"I expect no less."

The next morning, the sun starts to shine upon the city of Central. Ed and Al are escorted to the train station where they get their tickets for Dublith. After boarding the train, Ed tries to keep calm about asking Izumi about Darkness Alchemy. Al looks out the window thinking about what Greed had told them about Envy and Sybille. He also recalls how the user is unknown to the fact that they can summon the Gate without Human Transmutation. Al thinks that Sybille could actually be a lot more dangerous than originally thought if that is the case. He tries to shake off the feeling he has about the Gate, wanting to think of Sybille as an innocent girl. All Ed can think about is the possible beating he might get from Izumi after their last encounter with her. But for now, he has time to figure out how to ask her about this unknown form of alchemy.

In Dublith, Izumi has taken Sybille outside to try and figure out if Sybille has a different Classical Element as transmuting from the ground seems to be a 100% failure. Envy is keeping an eye on things ignoring what Sig originally told him to do, leaving Scar to do all the work. Although Scar doesn't mind helping out since he wants to pay the couple in return for letting them stay, he is mad at Envy for taking off. Sig tells him that when Envy returns to use his alchemy on him, or throw a knife at his head. Scar immeditatly starts to fear what might be going on in Sig's head, but chooses not to show any fear trying to keep up a strong front. As of now, Izumi, Sybille, and Envy are on a shoreline where Yock Island is sitting on the water, waiting for a boat to approach. Izumi has Sybille draw her Transmutation Circle in the sand near the water and has her perform alchemy by making the water look like a fish. The water starts to gather together and rise up in an oblong form, flialing around like a fish out of water. Sybille manages to get it under control as the transmutation starts to take the form of a koi fish. Before Sybille can get the tail to form making it independant from the lake, it bursts sending out purple and black energy lines and Sybille falls onto her back with swirls for eyes.

"Damn, that was looking good too." Envy says.

Izumi looks at him asking in a near demanding tone, "Shouldn't you be helping Sig and Scar?"

Envy replies, "Pah, like I'd help somebody! I want to see Sybille be able to transmute completely. I _have_ been there for _all_ her firsts, y'know."

"Let me get this straight: you'll help a defenseless infant, but you won't help somebody that can beat you into submission without warning? You know if Sig goes after you, Sybille won't be there to save you."

"I'm not defenseless. I'll just transform into him and send him flying."

"Is that so, Envy?"

"Yup. Just because he looked like he was killing something yesterday doesn't mean I'm scared of him."

"You really are an idiot, you know that?"

"Excuse me? In case you've forgotten, I'm the only one here that knows more deatils on Darkness Alchemy than you do."

"Don't get smart with me."

"Ohh, look at me, I'm shaking in my leg warmers."

Sybille finally recovers saying, "Envy, stop being an ass."

Izumi says turning her attention back to Sybille, "Ah, you're up. It almost seemed like your element would be water, but that explosion occured."

Sybille says standing up, "Yeah, it was closer than the figure I tried making yesterday. What am I doing wrong?"

"I'm not too sure." Izumi replies, "But let's try something else."

Envy starts to think, "{I may not know everything about alchemy, but it's almost like Sybille's forgetting a step or something.}"

Izumi tries to get Sybille to transmute by using a fire. She has Sybille set one up after drawing another circle. They quickly learn fire isn't her element as Sybille tries to create the same fish, but instead transmutes the sticks into fireworks and they go flying off in every direction imaginable. Izumi had to create a wall and Sybille dives into the water knowing the stick will go out if it hits the water. One flaming stick whizzes by Envy, causing him to dive behind a log. After a few minutes, Sybille surfaces, Izumi takes down the wall, and Envy comes out of hiding. Sybille swims back to shore and immediatly checks her automail arm for anything that may have gotten stuck. After inspection she finds it is okay, removes it, and shakes out any water that may have entered it. Izumi starts to laugh amazed at what Sybille did. Technically it is a transmutation, but the best incomplete one she's witnessed so far. Sybille just wants to move on to the wind element since the other three are failures. Envy can't get over how Sybille turned the sticks into fireworks when she was really trying to make a fish out of the flames.

Izumi agrees to move on to the wind element as Sybille reattaches her arm, reacting strongly to the pain. Izumi starts to think otherwise, knowing she and Ed can transmute without a circle. She looks at Sybille's automail arm, then looks over at Envy.

She calls, "Hey Envy, didn't you say that at one point, Sybille was able to transmute?"

"Hmm? Y-yeah, when she drew her Transmutation Circle for the first time, she made a bird figure. After they became perfect months later, she couldn't transmute anymore." Envy replies.

Izumi asks, "And you said that was before she obtained automail, correct?"

Envy nods, then quickly realizes, "Do you think that could be the issue?"

"I'm starting to think so." Izumi replies.

"Wait, are you guys saying I can't transmute because of my arm?" Sybille asks.

Izumi responds, "It could very well be the issue. But we can work around that. When I use alchemy, all I need to do is clap my hands together. By doing that, I create an energy circulation with my arms and using sheer will as a substitute for the necassary runes. You might be able to do it too. Let's give it a try. The thing is though, you really need to focus and understand your surroundings. It isn't a simple 1-2-3 deal."

"...But won't I need a rune on my automail hand?" Sybille asks.

"No. I don't have a rune anywhere on me and neither does Ed. First, I want you to know your surrounds; it's very crucial you know what's around you before using alchemy. Once you're aware, clap your hands together once, and slam them onto the ground while using your own willpower to aid you in transmuting. If you can do this, then I think the mystery of you not being able to transmute might be solved." Izumi explains.

Still confused and not confident, Sybille agrees to give it a try. She looks around to absorb her surroundings, studying the placement of each tree, where the water stops, and where the island is. She then closes her eyes to gain the mental picture of the area, and is able to tell where both Izumi and Envy are. After she feels she knows the area well enough, she does as Izumi's told her; she claps her hands together while gathering all the willpower she has as she slams them to the ground. Purple and black static jump from the spot and Sybille slowly but surely creates a koi fish sculpture out of the sand. She has successfully performed a transmutation without the aid of a circle, and opens her eyes to see her result.

Izumi smiles knowing that drawing a Transmutation circle was the problem. Before Sybille obtained her automail arm, she could transmute to the best of her abilities, close to Alphonse's skill level. Afterwards, she was unable to transmute, but could fix objects just fine. Envy decides to give Sybille a challenge. He takes off one of his fingerless gloves, rips part of it, and tosses it over to her telling her to use what she just learned to fix it. Sybille tries it, but the static energy doesn't occur. She then draws a circle and make an attempt, and the glove is fixed. Sybille looks up at Izumi confused. Izumi takes the glove and throws it back to Envy in anger slapping him in the face saying Sybille needs to learn one step at a time. As Sybille looks up at Izumi, she notices the Flamel tattoo on her chest, commenting that she likes the tattoo. Izumi tells her she got it when she learned alchemy from her teacher, not bothering to mention Dante was her teacher. Sybille's eyes light up saying she's always wanted a tattoo even though Izumi tells her the process is painful and done with a needle.

Meanwhile on the train, Ed and Al are playing poker with Ed cheating yet again. Unknown to them, another passenger is in their car watching them carefully. He is very tall, around 7'00", is dressed in a long black trench coat with only his boots being able to be seen. His hair is long and black, about halfway down his back. His skin is a pale olive and has light brown eyes with a scar going diagnally across his right eye. He has underneath his coat a LeMat Revolver handgun with a rune engraved on the handle part, indicating he uses his alchemy by firing the gun. He silently slips his hand into his coat to grab the gun, but a ticket checker comes through the door behind him. He abandons reaching for the gun and instead pulls out a ticket. As the ticket checker checks everyone's tickets, he moves on to the next car, and that's when Al notices the odd man in the tranch coat. Al shares his concerns with Ed, who then peers over, spilling the cards he hid in his sleeves. Al glares at his brother for cheating yet again.

A couple hours pass quickly as the day carries on. Ed and Al arrive in Dublith and are on their way to the butcher shop to find Izumi. Scar is currently helping Sig move large meats around the freezer making room for a recent shipment. Izumi is on her way back with Envy carrying an exhausted Sybille. Sybille had gone overboard with practicing her new method for transmuting and not failing, but discovered all too soon that using alchemy like that eats up a lot of a user's energy, and she had exhausted most of hers to the point where she became too weak to walk. Izumi says she'll prepare a big lunch for everyone but thinks twice about giving Envy anything to eat as he refused to help Sig and Scar. Although Envy tries to argue, Izumi comes back with a saying "those who don't work don't eat". Envy tries to get away saying he's carrying Sybille which technically is helping, but Izumi denies that it's work as he has plenty of physical strength. Sybille changes the subject saying she wants a tattoo of her rune on her back to which Envy quickly denies her of getting one.

As they reach the butcher shop, they stop in place spoting the Elric Brothers, who stop in their tracks as well seeing the three. Sybille glares at them stating she hates State Alchemists, but has no energy to react the way she wants to. Envy is shocked that the brothers are in Dublith and starts to think Greed told them where they are. Izumi is surprised to see Ed and Al again after what recently happened with Al's kidnapping. Ed and Al start to walk towards the three and Envy starts to back away a few steps thinking they're after Sybille. As the brothers close in, they asure Envy they're not after Sybille, but keep their eyes on Izumi thinking she'll make a rash action. Izumi stays calm and doesn't bother to beat up the boys after what's been going on recently. Scar steps out of the shop to take a breather and warm up from being in the freezer. As soon as he spots Ed and Al, the Elrics see him and all three become shocke to see each other with Ed demanding what Scar is doing not killing somebody. Izumi shakes her head knowing there's going to be a lot of explaining going on.

During lunch about an hour later, Izumi, Envy, and Scar explain what's going on. Sybille doesn't add much to the conversationg being focused on filling her stomach with food trying to regain the energy she wasted earlier. Ed and Al are amazed that Sybille can perform alchemy without a Transmutation Circle as the circle itself is the issue for regular transmutation, but is still needed in order to fix objects. Sybille then says she wants a tattoo of her circle on her back to which Envy denies her once again.

That's when Ed reveals why he and Al are in Dublith, "Teacher, we learned from Greed of Sybille's Darkness Alchemy. Since we couldn't find anything in the library on it, we were wondering if you know anything about it."

"Why, so you can summon the Gate yourselves?" Envy angrily questions.

"Of course not. We want to learn as much as we can about it before the State learns everything and throws Sybille behind bars." Al reassures.

"Sorry boys, but I'm still learning about it myself now that I'm training Sybille. I've never heard of it until she came here." Izumi replies.

"...You're kidding, right?" Ed asks.

"Nope." Izumi replies as she grabs her glass of water and takes a few sips.

"Looks like you two traveled here for nothing!" Sybille says with a sunny look.

Scar tells her, "Sybille, be a little more polite."

Al says, "If you think this bothers us, you haven't heard what we've gone through in order to find the Philosopher's Stone."

"Either way, it sucks to be you." Sybille replies taking a drink of her apple juice.

Ed growls trying to be smart, "Envy, is there a reason she's such a bitch?"

Envy retorts, "Yeah, I'm a bitch."

"So you admit it then?" Ed says, insulting Envy.

Sig slams his hands on the table his eyes shadowed making things more intense as he shouts, "THAT KIND OF BEHAVIOR IS NOT TOLERATED HERE!"

Sybille panicks and runs off to her room while the boys fall over from the intensity. Envy is about to get up and go after Sybille when Izumi tells him not to worry and that she'd go get Sybille. That was the plan until there's a knock at the door. Scar gets up and answers the door, seeing it's the man that was on the train with Ed and Al.

Scar demands who he is and the man replies, "I am looking for this person. Seen her?" and he holds up a picture of Sybille.

Scar replies having a bad feeling, "No, I haven't seen her. You should try somewhere else."

The man thanks him fand leaves. Scar shuts the door and gets an ominous feeling that something is about to happen. Ed asks what's going on and Scar points at the chair where Sybille was sitting. Envy gets up and quickly heads for Sybille with Izumi following soon after.

* * *

><p><strong>Trivia:<strong>  
>1) Sybille says she's a critical thinker. This is true considering she knows how to perform alchemy and is proven later on.<br>2) Scar can perform alchemy to a point, but it is only because his older brother gave him the right arm.  
>3) Sybille's inability to perform alchemy via Transmutation Circle is due to the automail arm; this can be a sign of the fear she still holds from when she was shot. However, she still needs the circle in order to fix objects, a possible side effect for not being able to control her alchemy.<br>4) Sybille turning the still burning sticks into "fireworks" is an actual transmutation, but a poorly controlled one.  
>5) Sybille has no respect for State Alchemists shown by her attitude towards the Elrics, not even bothering to give Al a break.<p> 


	4. Wanted

Character Thoughts: "{abc}"  
><strong>Note:<strong>These events are based around the 2003 anime. Anyone who flames will be blocked.

Chapter 4:  
>Wanted<p>

Envy is first to arrive at his room finding Sybille hiding under the bed; she isn't very good at hiding as her foot is sticking out. Izumi is behind him as they enter the room. That's when the door out front is busted down, and the man stands there with his gun pointed, smoke coming out. The Transmutation Circle on his gun is glowing, revealing itself to be a Darkness Alchemy Circle having the pentagram as the distinct indication. The symbols are a skull with a rose behind it in the middle, and a simple wing at the top point. No bullet was shot from the gun, but instead it was an alchemic blast, which means the only way this person can use alchemy is through his gun. Scar had just barely avoided the blast, his left arm burned from it. Ed quickly transmutes his arm into a blade and blocks the doorway with Al right behind him. The man lowers his gun.

Ed demands, "Okay asshole, just who do you think you are? And what do you want with Sybille?"

The man replies, "My name is Anselm-" being quicky cut off by Scar, "Oh great, I thought it was something intimidating like 'Bob' or 'Gregory'."

"..." Anselm continues, "So, her name is Sybille, huh? Why do you protect her?"

"We made an agreement to help look after her. You'll be lucky to get through this doorway." Al replies.

"An agreement?" Anselm asks.

Suddenly, Envy comes rushing out the back and over the roof, soon slamming down on Anselm while performing a kick. A dust cloud is produced from the force, and Envy is seen jumping back in front of the building. Al looks back towards the hallway seeing Izumi. She gives a look indicating Sybille is safe. The dust cloud settles and Anselm is standing as if nothing happened. Ed looks at the gun, seeing that Anselm had transmuted it into a shield to protect him from the attack. The gun is transmuted back to normal, and Anselm loads in a bullet, and purple and black energy sparks from the load. Seeing this, Envy quickly announces he's a Darkness Alchemy user.

"Indeed I am, Homunuculus." Anselm says.

"But, how are you performing alchemy?" Ed asks.

Anselm explains, "You see, Darkness Alchemy is not limited to transmuted from the four basic elements like regular alchemy users. We Darkness Users can perform alchemy through objects ranging from toys to weapons. However, the user cannot simply choose an object and transmute with it. The object is unknown to the user; if they can transmute with the object without the need for a Transmutation Circle, then that means it becomes their only means of alchemy. Sure we can transmute, but more energy is wasted through that, especially when it fails."

Envy starts to think, "{That explains why Sybille faints after a failed transmutation.}"

Izumi comes out saying, "In that case you Darkness Users would have quite a few openings. But why are you after Sybille?"

"Because, she's my daughter." Anselm replies.

Envy becomes angered and punches Anselm in the face shouting, "You f*cker!"

Anselm recovers asking, "Why so enraged, Homunculus?"

"You left her for dead, you bastard! Why aren't you still in prison?" Envy demands.

"I was released early for good behavior. When I found this picture of Sybille in the newspaper, it was like a big slap in the face. Sybille should be dead; she killed my wife." Anselm replies, earning a roundhouse kick to the head.

Envy shouts, "Your wife was obviously one of the unlucky few who couldn't handle the stress of childbirth! It's not like it's uncommon! Sybille didn't kill your wife."

Anselm says, "Do you not get that infants in fetal form are parasites? While my wife was pregnant with her, throughout all nine months she'd violently vomit, be under constant stress, refused to eat for days, until the day that parasite was born. She became so weak that she died, all because of Sybille."

"You're a monster! You can't blame everything on Sybille because of that! You should be glad to have a legacy!" Al yells.

"Hey, I wasn't hoping for a daughter. I wanted a son, and now I'll never have the chance!" Anselm says, slamming the gun to the ground, rune first, firing stone spikes from the ground.

Izumi quickly puts up a barrier and the spikes all slam into it. Ed rushes out preparing to slash Anselm, when Anselm sudenly fires the gun at Ed, destroying his automail leg, pieces flying everywhere. Ed falls to the ground, looking at his destroyed leg, soon discovering it had been blasted clear off the base. Before Anselm could load another bullet, Envy grabs his head and knees his face several times before kicking him. Anselm falls to the ground with his nose broken and bleeding. Al rushes over to Ed and picks him up. Both of them are able to see the damage behind them; Ed's leg had been destroyed to the point of no return. Envy continues his attack by pinning Anselm to the ground by placing one knee on his chest and pummels his head.

As Alphonse tries to rush back inside, Anselm is able to slam his gun into the ground and send Envy flying into the brothers with just pure alchemic force. All three hit the ground witn Envy tumbling onto his stomach, Ed falling onto his right arm, and Al on his back with his head detaching and tumbling a few inches away. Anselm gets up and quickly loads another bullet while Izumi rushes to their side and puts up a barrier. Scar comes running out at Anselm, who goes to fire his gun when Scar acts faster by slamming his hand to the ground, causing it to explode beneath Anselm. Anselm falls to the ground while Scar closes in and grabs his head, preparing to literally blow his brains out. However, Anselm retaliates by kicking Scar's abdomen, causing him to let go. Anselm then pistol whips Scar in the head, knocking him to the ground.

Suddenly, Anselm finds himself stuck into the ground, seeing that his feet have been surrounded by the ground. It was transmutated, but the color of the ground is purple and black. In the doorway stands a stressed out Sybille, having heard most of the fight. Anselm sadistically smiles seeing his daughter, Darkness static dancing from her hands. Envy fills up with fear seeing her coming out to battle.

Envy calls, "Sybille! Go back inside! It's too dangero-**GYAAAAAHHHH!**" before his entire left arm is blasted off from Anselm's bullet, blood spilling everywhere.

That's when Sybille's eyes start to glow a bright yellow, and she flies at Anselm, punching his stomach. Anselm doesn't go flying as he's stuck in the ground, giving Sybille the opportunity to continue punching him while Darkness static flies out from each impact. Anselm cannot react or block as each hit brings him closer to getting knocked out. Everyone watches in shock and awe as Sybille pummels Anselm without taking a breath. She then finishes by jumping and drop kicking him in the chest, breaking him from the ground. Sybille jumps back, claps her hands and slams them to the ground, trapping Anselm in a cage. Anselm tries to sit up and looks at Sybille, who's eyes have not stopped glowing.

Anselm maniacally laughs before saying, "It's happening! The power inside her is starting to awaken!"

"Power? What power?" Izumi asks.

Anselm replies as his irises slowly glow green, "Each Darkness User has their own individual stress limitation that causes them to enter an alterred state of mind. I entered mine fifteen years ago and never came out of it. Sybille is just discovering hers! It's wonderful!"

Scar asks as Sybille closes in, "How does it end?"

"Not until the user **kills** their oppenent!" Anselm giddily replies.

Sybille grabs onto one of the bars, and turns the empty space into glass. A hole appears in the middle of the ground, and rushing water can be heard. However, Anselm counters this by shooting at the cage, creating a hole. He rushes out, only to be grabbed by Sybille. He points his gun at her head, cocking the gun with no bullet. Knowing the point-blank range will kill her, Al throws his the helmet to his armor at Anselm's head, causing him to flinch and point the gun at the sky. Envy jumps out from behind the barrier, his arm not regenerated, and tries to drop kick Anselm. He recovers in time and avoids the attack, but Sybille is hanging onto him. She grabs his gun and tries to rip it away, when the rune reacts on its own and causes Sybille pain, making her let go.

Anselm jumps back and shoots at the groung, causing a smokescreen. After a few seconds, the smoke clears and he's gone. The cage Sybille created melts back into the ground, the water having never made it to the surface. Izumi transmutes the barriers back into the ground and Scar grabs Al's helmet. Sybille's eyes soon stop glowing and she returns to normal, looking around confused, soon spotting that Envy is missing his left arm, and Ed his left leg. She freaks out asking what happened before she quickly faints with Envy catching her.

"Damn that bastard...how dare he..." Ed growls.

Scar returns Al's helmet as he says, "I can't get over how strong that man is; he's stronger than me."

"That's an understatement. The fact that he can transmute just by slamming his gun into the ground scares me. He can transmute faster than we can." Izumi says looking down at Ed.

"He said that he was in that alterred state for fifteen years. Could that mean he passed on his Darkness Alchemy abilities to Sybille?" Al asks, placing his helmet back on.

"It's possible. We can only use regular alchemy, and that isn't a trait that can be passed on to the next generation like that. She never had regular alchemy to start with." Ed answers.

"Hey guys...I don't feel too good..." Envy announces before he blacks out.

"Shit!" Ed shouts as he looks at Envy, "He never regenerated his arm!"

"No, he couldn't regenerate his arm." Sig says, emerging from the house.

Scar looks at the blood pool, soon seeing a part of the bullet that was shot at Envy. He picks it up saying that the bullet could be the cause as Anselm's only means of performing alchemy is through the gun. Izumi then sees blue lights coming from Envy's shoulder; he's starting to regenerate his arm. Sig walks over and picks up Envy and Sybille while Al picks up Ed, and everyone heads back inside.

It is late afternoon. Everyone's wounds have been treated. Sybille is lying in a separate bed from Envy with a cold wet cloth on her forehead. Al is currently keeping an eye on them both while Ed tries to contact Central to report what just happened, stating that they now have a new enemy, and that he must return to Resembool in order to get a new leg. Izumi is preparing dinner while Sig sells one last item to a loyal customer before closing shop. He had helped Izumi clean up the streets beforehand so no one could really tell that a battle occured. Al moves on to Envy who's headband was removed in order to place a cool cloth on his forehead. His arm is fully regenerated, but is covered in multpile bruises, a good indication that the bullet is the cause. What crosses his mind is how the regeneration was delayed so badly; it took Envy the rest of the afternon to recover his arm.

Alphonse then starts to think. Anselm can only transmute using his gun. Homunculi are results of failed Human Transmutation and are basically immortal until a weakness is introduced. They are given Red Stones so they can take on a human form. Red Stones are false Philosopher Stones created from Red Water. Since both Red Stone and Water are comprised of alchemical amplification substances, is it possible that Darkness Alchemy can manipulate it? Anselm can pass his alchemy onto his bullets as an extension to cause damage, since it appears to mimic Scar's ability of stopping at the Deconstruction step of Alchemy. The first bullet destroyed Ed's leg to the point where it was just pieces and wires. The second bullet destroyed Envy's left arm, not even bothering to leave a trail of skin or tissue behind. Darkness Alchemy is a stronger form of regular alchemy. Al soon becomes frustrated from thinking so critically unable to wrap around the amount of damage done.

He soon hears Sybille ask, "Alphonse? What happened?"

He turns to see she is awake and replies, "It's rather complicated, but you passed out. You also had a slight fever, but it looks like it's going away."

"Is Envy okay?" she asks.

"Yeah. His arm's recovered." he replies moving so she can seen him.

"...His face is all red."

"His fever's a little worse than yours, but he'll recover. It took him all afternoon to regenerate his arm."

"All afternoon? That's not right."

"Like I said, it's complicated what happened. Everything will be explained when you're more awake."

"...That guy earlier...I heard him say I was his daughter. Does that mean...?"

"He's your dad."

"Why does he want to kill me so badly?"

"Your mother died from the stress of giving birth to you, and, well...he blames you for it."

"Me? Why?"

"...Sybille..."

"He's just being a dick; forget about it." Envy suddenly says, his eyes half open.

"Niisan! You're awake!" Sybille says.

"Yeah, but-Aaaahhh, my arm! What the f*ck?" Envy tries to say before feeling the pain.

He looks at his arm seeing it's covered in multiple bruises. Al tells him it could be from the bullet, but Envy denies it since he isn't dead, even from losing a lot of blood. Scar knocks on the door and Al lets him in. Scar tells them that dinner will be ready soon and Sybill becomes excited since she's gotten hungry.

After dinner, Ed and Al decide they need to head to Resembool so Ed can get a new leg; he had called Winry after contacting Central. Sybille announces she'll be joining as she discovered her automail arm isn't holding together well, and she doesn't have the tools to fix it. Although a bit reluctant, Ed agrees to let her tag along, with Envy quickly stating he'll be coming along. Scar decides he'll stay with Izumi and Sig over trying to reach his actual destination, but Izumi quickly denies him this, not wanting to attract anymore unwanted attention. This forces the Elrics to take on Scar seeing as how he wants to help Sybille master her alchemy.

Meanwhile at Central HQ, Mustang sits at his desk reviewing the report Ed had called in. Sheska was the one who was called to talk to Ed and record everything. As he reads over the events that took place and starts to piece together the connection between Sybille and Anselm. Ed had neglected on purpose to tell Mustang that Anselm said Sybille was his daughter, instead saying that Anselm was after Sybille because he wants to be the only Darkness User left. Mustang starts to ignore this small bit of info, already starting to piece together that Anselm and Sybille must be related as both are users. But Envy appearing out of nowhere and having to defend himself makes no sense to him. Mustang starts to think that Envy may have wanted to fight them, but became injured in the crossfire, and had no choice to retreat. Mustang becomes frustrated with the information.

On the train a couple hours later, Ed reveals to everyone that he lied about certain parts in his report, trying to keep his word about revealing the truth about Sybille. While Envy is thankful for it, Sybille yanks Ed's bangs saying it's wrong for even a State Alchemist to lie. Envy tells her that the truth about her must remain a secret so that she isn't sought after by the other State Alchemists. She sighs and takes out her progress journal to record everything that happened, asking the others for information on what hapened during the time her eyes were glowing. They fill her in on all the details they can before she becomes tired. Not wanting to fall asleep yet because she wants to relax, Al offers to play Go Fish with her until she can't play anymore. She agrees and they start to play a round. Scar tries to become comfortable before he falls asleep. As Sybille starts to lose the battle to fatigue, Envy pulls her close so she'll lean against him and not fall onto the floor. The only round of Go Fish lasted only ten minutes as Sybille falls asleep, dropping the cards. Al gathers the cards and stores them away.

* * *

><p><strong>Trivia:<strong>  
>1) Scar's line is a play off a line in <em>Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs<em> when Buck introduces Rudy, and Manny retorts.  
>2) Darkness Alchemy is further explained by Anselm, who is really Sybile's father; since users perform through objects, they are unknown to the users at first, yet Sybille has no object.<br>3) It is unknown how long Anselm was placed in prison, but he was released early on good behavior; this can happen.  
>4) I learned in one of my Bio classes that fetuses are a kind of parasite as they live off the mother-to-be until they're born. They can cause certain things to happen as well. (if you flame because of this, you'll not only be blocked, but reported as well).<br>5) Anselm's bullets are NOT specially made; he can perform alchemy through his gun, so he can change their composition.  
>6) Envy's arms being covered in bruises is really part of the regeneration being delayed.<br>7) Ed lies to Mustang in order to keep Sybille's truth a secret. Him figuring Anselm and Sybille being related is because he knows both are Darkness Users, and most people would make that assumption.


End file.
